Viewers say their ‘hearts can’t cope’ with adorable rescue dog Alan with a wonky face – as owners tell This Morning they would never put him through surgery to fix it
- Rescue dog Alan, a one-year-old Saluki-Boxer cross, has severe facial deformity
- Johanna Handley, 41, and Dan Strutt, adopted stray dog from the Doha in Qatar
- Has since become TikTok sensation boasting nearly 200K followers on the app
This Morning viewers said they are ‘beyond in love’ with a wonky-faced rescue pup who shot to fame on TikTok.
Alan, a one-year-old Saluki-Boxer cross, has a severe facial deformity that causes his nose to twist and droop to the right so he’s permanently flashing his bottom teeth.
His owners, Johanna Handley, 41, and Dan Strutt, 41, from Surrey, started posting videos of their pet on their eight-year-old’ daughter’s account after rescuing the stray from Doha, Qatar – where the family currently live.
Alan l has racked up nearly 200,000 followers on the app, and viewers were besotted with the dog, with one saying they ‘couldn’t cope’ with how adorable the canine is.
Alan, a one-year-old Saluki-Boxer cross, has a severe facial deformity that causes his nose to twist and droop to the right so he’s permanently flashing his bottom teeth
This Morning viewers fell in love with the animal after he appeared on the ITV show today with his owners and their daughter
One commented: ‘I am beyond in love with Alan. I can’t cope, my heart!’
A third said: ‘Great rescue and foster story on This Morning.’
Alan was rescued 10 months ago when Johanna saw the two-month-old dog and his family living as strays near her house, and she has since found homes for the other animals in both Qatar and the US.
Viewers were besotted with the dog, with one saying they ‘couldn’t cope’, with how adorable the animal is
‘I found him near my house,’ she recalled. ‘Just him and his pack, his brothers and sisters his mum and his dad. They were just stray dogs. They were living there and I couldn’t walk away. I had to rescue all of them, but I had to keep Alan.’
Johanna and Dan started posting videos of Alan after ‘hijacking’ their daughter Darcy’s account.
‘Darcy set up a TikTok account,’ Joanna explained. ‘Darcy is eight-years-old and she was on TikTok with all of her friends.
‘I was a little bit worried about letting her loose on the app. I didn’t know much about it and I basically hijacked the account and said it was going to be a family account.
Alan was rescued 10 months ago when Johanna saw the two-month-old dog and his family living as strays near her house in Doha, Qatar
‘We started doing it together and making videos of Alan, and people loved it and it just took off.’
Blown away by his fame, Johanna hopes Alan’s TikTok, will encourage more people to adopt rescue dogs, and not shy away from those with differences.
Johanna previously said: ‘I have had loads of nasty comments about Alan’s appearance. I have had people tell me they’ll give me money so he can get surgery to fix his face but there’s no way.
‘I actually had him evaluated by the vet for surgery because I worried about his future and possible breathing issues, but the vet said he’s perfectly healthy as he is.
The wonky-faced rescue pup has since shot to fame on TikTok racking up nearly 200K followers on the social media platform
Owner Johanna Handley, 41, from Godalming, Surrey (pictured) , said she started posting videos of Alan after ‘hijacking’ their daughter Darcy’s account
‘They’d have to break and reset his nose and jaw. It would be unimaginable pain for something that is purely cosmetic. There’s no point putting him through that.’
‘The point is to show that Alan isn’t ugly at all and shut down anyone who’d say anything mean about him just because of his differences.
Despite a lot of negativity, Johanna has also been flooded with thousands of adoring comments from Alan’s fans, and he can’t go anywhere without being recognised.
Johanna said: ‘Most of the comments and messages we get on his TikTok are so positive. People adore him.
‘But now we’ll be walking down the street with Alan and people say “look it’s the TikTok dog”.’